Axe

Abstract

An axe comprising a blade (3) provided with a cutting edge (6) at one end, and a handle (2), and in which the centre of gravity of the axe is located at a distance from the cutting edge (6) of the axe and lies in a centre-of-gravity plane (C) of the axe located at a distance from a blade plane (B) of the axe parallel with both the centre-of-gravity plane (C) and a normal working motion plane (W) of the axe, and in which the cutting edge (6) of the blade and the centre of gravity of the axe are arranged to cooperate when the blade (3) hits wood and the cutting edge (6) of the blade partly penetrates into the wood such that at least some of the impact force of the blade (3) is converted into a rotational motion and a motion of the blade (3) in a curvilinear trajectory, the blade (3) is attached to the handle (2) so that the handle (2) is uncircled by the blade (3).

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The invention relates to an axe as defined in the preamble of the independent claim 1.[0002]The invention relates to an axe comprising a blade provided with a cutting edge at one end, and a handle, whereby the centre of gravity of the axe is located at a distance from the cutting edge of the axe and lies in a centre-of-gravity plane of the axe located at a distance from a blade plane of the axe parallel with both the centre-of-gravity plane and a normal working motion plane of the axe, whereby the cutting edge of the blade and the centre of gravity of the axe are arranged to cooperate when the blade hits wood and the cutting edge of the blade partly penetrates into the wood such that at least some of the impact force of the blade is converted into a rotational motion and a motion of the blade in a curvilinear trajectory.[0003]A normal working motion plane of an axe is herein used to refer to a plane in which the axe is moved while splitting wood.[0004]A c...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0021]The portion of the handle which is attached to the blade is preferably but not necessarily of a different form than the rest of the handle. The portion of the handle which is attached to the blade is preferably but not necessarily of the shape that borders up inside the mounting arrangement and the blade. The portion of the handle can also be of a different shape, for example rectangular. With the different shape of the portion of the handle attached to the blade the rotation of the handle inside the mounting arrangement is prevented when using the axe. The portion of the handle that is of a different shape than the rest of the handle can restrict in a vertical direction only to the area where the mounting arrangement is but it can also be wider, for example covering the handle all the way to the place where the hands are kept when using the axe. The handle can also be throughout the same shape as in the portion where the blade is attached or it can have only a special portion to the hands.

[0022]The portion of the handle which is attached to the blade has preferably but not necessarily a fixing point also with the blade. The blade has a peg which digs to the handle so that the handle stays in place. Also when the handle is made of wood it has preferably but not necessarily a cover in the upper part of the handle so that the handle does not wear when missing the target while splitting wood. The cover can also be larger than the portion of the blade. The cover can also be used when the material of the handle is other than wood. The cover is preferably but not necessarily made of plastic. In one preferred embodiment the handle is releasable attached to the blade. That way it is easy to carry along.

[0025]One further idea of the invention is that the axe fits to a small place so that it can be easily taken along when for example going for a trek and for this purpose it is convenient that the axe's second stop element is arranged to have a hinge so that the second stop element is hinged with a turning joint. When having a turning joint in the second stop element the axe needs smaller space for instance in the backpack.

[0026]One further embodiment of the axe is that the axe can be equipped with at least one weight to move the centre of gravity of the axe with respect to the blade plane. That way it helps the motion of the axe to be a rotational motion when the blade hits the wood and the cutting edge partly penetrates into the wood. The extra weight is preferably detachable.

Problems solved by technology

A problem with such a conventional axe is that the only way to affect the splitting force is to make the wedge wider.

It is, however, difficult for a blade with a wide wedge to penetrate into the wood.

In contrast, a blade with a sharp wedge easily penetrates into the wood but has poor splitting force.

In addition, a disadvantageous characteristic of the conventional axes is that such an axe gets easily stuck in the wood because the axe blade penetrates directly into the wood.

A problem with this known arrangement is that when the blade hits the wood and the cutting edge of the blade has partly penetrated into the wood and some of the impact force of the blade is converted into a rotational motion, this rotational motion is uncontrolled.

Consequently, the axe disclosed in the US publication may even be a dangerous tool for those unaccustomed to using such an axe.

The rotational motion of the blade and the motion of the blade in a curvilinear trajectory may result in the user hitting oneself in the foot, for example.

A conventional axe usually weighs so much that it is not easy to carry along when going for a trek for example.

A problem with the conventional axe is that the blade needs to have a hole where the handle is mounted and producing a hole to the blade is always an expense.

Forging as a production method is also quite expensive method and takes time.

One important issue also when going for a trek is the weight of the axe.

A forged blade is always quite heavy.

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